


Cabin Fever

by aruarudayo



Series: Seen This Before [6]
Category: Homestuck
Genre: Gen, Thorough Robot Abuse, kids don't try this at home, really just an excuse for fight scene practice
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-21
Updated: 2014-08-21
Packaged: 2018-02-14 03:58:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2177097
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aruarudayo/pseuds/aruarudayo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sword Plant: A character stabs the ground (or a wall) with a sword (or any other weapon for that matter) as an attack, to help stand up, as an anchor, or just look cool.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Cabin Fever

**Author's Note:**

> prompt from gendersquare@dreamwidth

There isn’t much to do after beating a game. There’s a certain catharsis that comes with doing so, as well as an emptiness that follows. Often times, the best course of action is to replay the game, but none of them have any desire to do that, ever, not when the game they just finished playing tore their minds and bodies apart.

The Striders are no exception to this. They have no wish to restart the game, even though fighting is in their blood. More than anything, they can’t handle the heartbreak that came with the game, but after running around fighting for their lives, believing everyone to be an enemy, sometimes including friends, and losing many of their own, it’s hard to lose that sort of hyper-vigilance.

In other words, they’re getting antsy.

One day, Dave can’t take it, so he makes his way to the roof for some fresh air. 

Dirk is up there already, clearly having a similar idea. He throws him a sword without looking up from the robot he’s working on. 

Dave, oddly, isn’t sure what to do with it. One thing he hasn’t been able to do yet is turn his sword against someone he loves, even for strifing, even though he needs to fight something to keep himself from going crazy. Besides that, the image of Bro impaled on his own sword is still fresh in his mind, and Dirk being the spitting image of him…yeah, there’s no way.

“You don’t expect me to fight you, do you?” he asks, wincing at how weak his voice sounds. 

Dirk glances up from the robot. “Nah, I don’t want to hurt you.” He closes up the robot’s back panel and powers it on, picking up his own sword as he gets up. “Me and you are gonna face off against this thing.”

Without warning, the robot swipes at Dirk. He jumps out of the way to Dave’s side. “I set it to Kill mode, so it should be a decent challenge, right?” 

He smirks, and Dave can’t remember him looking so alive since they beat the game. He answers with a smirk of his own before they get ready to meet the bundle of bolts and circuitry advancing at them. 

They jump apart, the robot’s fist hitting nothing but concrete. Both of them twist in the air, bringing their swords down simultaneously towards its back. Using its fist in the ground as leverage, it lifts its lower half into the air and kicks outwards, hitting both brothers in the gut. Dave locks his arms around its leg to stop himself from flying off, but Dirk isn’t as quick to act, crashing into the air conditioning unit. 

Dave tries to slice off the robot’s leg in retaliation, but is forced to release his hold when it tries to stand and crush him in the process. 

Rolling away, he flashsteps to its back and charges, only to be knocked away near his brother, who only just now manages to extract himself from hole in the air conditioning.

Dirk makes it the last few inches out of the debris, stabbing the ground with his sword to pull him the rest of the way out. “Dude, that was pitiful.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m out of practice.” Dave dusts himself off and gets up before spotting Dirk’s sword in the concrete. “Hey, that’s the same sword you got from the game, right?”

“Yeah, why?”

Dave doesn’t have a chance to respond as the robot leaps at them, and it’s all they can do to get out of the way, Dirk not even able to get to his sword. 

Dirk doesn’t mind though; fists are enough to take down something like this, though he’ll likely take more damage. He’s the first to move at it, aiming for the head, but at the last moment touching down and making a sizable dent in the robot’s torso. 

Dave dashes in while it’s distracted, coming from the back. It notices him and dodges, but not fast enough, his slash taking off its arm in one go. Undeterred, it turns, hitting Dirk in the side with a roundhouse kick and Dave with a downward stroke. 

This time, Dirk holds on, the metal of the leg creaking under his grip. With a grunt, he lifts it in the air, throwing it a few feet away. 

It lands with a crash, but it’s on its feet again in an instant. Dave’s recovered as well, wiping a trace of blood from where he bit his lip. 

He looks to Dirk. “Distract him.” 

Dirk nods, and then they’re both running forward. 

Dave passes the robot on its armless side as Dirk ducks down low, getting an uppercut in before its can react. It brings its head down hard onto Dirk’s, stars appearing in his vision. It rears up to do it again.

Then, Dave impales his sword through its head like a bullet. Dirk steps out of the way as they fall forward, the force enough for the tip to break the surface. The robot sputters and jerks before lying still.

"That was some pretty nice speed," Dirk comments, putting his fist out for his brother to bump.

Dave grins, breathing hard. "I had some help." He points behind him at Dirk's sword, still wagging back and forth.

"You launched yourself off the Unbreakable Katana."

"I wish I could say it was a flash of brilliance, but I've done it before on accident."

"What could possibly bring you to do something like that?"

"I don't really want to talk about it. It was pretty uncool."

"Tell me anyway."

So Dave talks about Bro and his sword, about trying to take it and eventually giving up. Dirk laughs, though he has the decency to look guilty.

They switch topics to lighter things, rolling off the robot and relaxing on the rooftop. Though tired, they feel lighter, the Strider form of stress relief working its magic. They talk until the sweat on their bodies cools and the sky fills with stars. 

Tomorrow, Dirk will rebuild the kill-bot, and they’ll probably have to do this again in a week or two. But that’s tomorrow.


End file.
